Online Encyclopedia

total value of the city's manufactures increased from $13,244,538 in 1890 to $17,923,059 ($14,233,483 being factory product) in 1900, and to $21,346,817 (factory product) in 1905, an increase of 50% over the value of the factory product in 1900 . Chickasaw Bluffs were named from the Chickasaw See also:

INDIANS, NORTH AMERICAN

Indians, who were in See also:

possession when See also:

white men first came to the vicinity . See also:

LATE

Late in the 17th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century the See also:

French built a fort on the site of Memphis, and during most of the 18th century this site was held either by the French or the See also:

SPANISH

Spanish . In 1797 it passed into the possession of the United States . By a treaty of the 19th of See also:

OCTOBER

October 1818, negotiated by See also:

General Andrew Jackson and General See also:

ISAAC (Hebrew for " he laughs," on explanatory references to the name, see ABRAHAM)

Isaac Shelby, the See also:

CHICKASAWS

Chickasaws ceded all their claims See also:

east of the Mississippi, and See also:

early in 1819 Memphis was laid out in accordance with an agreement entered into by See also:

John Overton (1766–1833), Andrew Jackson and See also:

James See also:

Winchester (1752–1826), the proprietors of the See also:

LAND

land . Its name was suggested from the similarity of its situation on the Mississippi to that ofthe See also:

EGYPTIAN

Egyptian city on the See also:

Nile . Memphis was incorporated as a See also:

TOWN

town in 1827, and in 1849 was chartered as a city .

Near Memphis, on the 6th of See also:

JUNE

June 1862, a Union See also:

FLEET

fleet of 9 vessels and 68 guns, under See also:

COMMANDER

Commander See also:

Charles See also:

Henry See also:

Davis (1807–77), defeated a Confederate fleet of 8 vessels and 28 guns under Commander J . E . See also:

Montgomery after a contest of little more than one See also:

HOUR

hour, three of the Confederate vessels being destroyed and four of them captured, and from this victory until the See also:

close of the See also:

war the city was in possession of the Union forces . In See also:

AUGUST (originally Sextilis)

August 1864, however, a Confederate force under General N . B . See also:

Forrest raided it and captured several See also:

HUNDRED

hundred prisoners . The decrease of See also:

POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population between 1870 and x88o was due to the ravages of yellow feverin 1873, 1878 and 1879 . The epidemic of 1873 resulted in over two thousand deaths, and that of 1878 in a total of 5150, of whom 4250 were whites and 900 negroes . At the return of the See also:

FEVER (Lat. febris, connected with fervere, to burn)

fever in 1879 better care and strict See also:

QUARANTINE (Fr. quarantaine, a period of forty days 1)

quarantine arrangements prevailed, but there were 497 deaths . During the epidemics of 1878 and 1879 fully two-thirds of the population fled from the city, many of whom died of the fever at other places, and a still larger number did not return . For three months during each See also:

YEAR

year business was suspended, and all See also:

INGRESS (Lat. ingresses, going in)

ingress or See also:

EGRESS (Lat. egressus, going out)

egress except for the most necessary purposes was forbidden . The city was See also:

LEFT

left almost bankrupt, and as a means of See also:

RELIEF

relief the legislature of the state in See also:

JANUARY

January 1879 repealed the city's See also:

CHARTER (Lat. charta, carta, from Gr. Xap-rns, originally for papyrus, material for writing, thence transferred to paper and from this material to the document, in O. Eng. boc, book)

charter, and, assuming exclusive See also:

CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control of its See also:

taxation and finances, constituted it simply a " taxing See also:

DISTRICT

district," placing its government in the hands of a " legislative See also:

COUNCIL (Lat. concilium, from cum, together, and the root cal, to call)

council." This anomalous proceeding was declared constitutional by the supreme court of Tennessee .

Subsequently the streets were cleansed and repaved, an improved See also:

SEWER

sewer See also:

SYSTEM

system was put in operation, and the water See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply was obtained from artesian wells . In 1891 a new city charter was obtained, and in 1907 the " See also:

Houston See also:

plan " (see HOUSTON, See also:

TEXAS

TEXAS) was adopted for Memphis by the state legislature . The See also:

ACT (Lat. actus, actum)

act, however, was declared unconstitutional by the state supreme court, on the ground that it would force elected See also:

OFFICERS

officers out of See also:

OFFICE (from Lat. officium, " duty," " service," a shortened form of opifacium, from facere, " to do," and either the stem of opes, " wealth," " aid," or opus, " work ")

office before the expiration of their constitutional terms; and in 1909 a new charter on the Houston plan was adopted by the legislature, to become effective on the 1st of January 1910, providing for a government by five commissioners, each having See also:

charge of a See also:

SEPARATE

separate See also:

DEPARTMENT (Fr. departement, from departir, to separate into parts)

department . See J . M . Keating, See also:

HISTORY

History of the City of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee (See also:

Syracuse, 1888) ; James Phelan, History of Tennessee (See also:

Boston, 1889) .

End of Article: MEMPHIS

[back]
MEMORIAL DAY (or DECORATION DAY)

[next]
JUAN DE MENA (1411–1456)

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.

» Add information or comments to this article.

Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click and select "copy." Paste it into a website, email, or other HTML document.

Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.
Links to articles and home page are encouraged.